Look up: Cleveland's four tallest towers frame this historic downtown plaza. Based on an 18th-century New England model, it was part of the original 1796 town plat overseen by city founder General Moses Cleaveland of the Connecticut Land Company. The historical center of the city's downtown, Public Square covers 9.5 acres (3.8 ha) centered on the former intersection of Superior Avenue and Ontario Street and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Originally designed as four separate squares bisected by Superior Avenue and Ontario Street, the square was rethought in 2016 into a more pedestrian-friendly environment by routing most traffic around it. The section of Ontario Street through the square was removed, and the section of Superior Avenue was rebuilt to only allow buses. Look up and you are framed by Cleveland's four tallest buildings: Key Tower, 200 Public Square, the Sherwin-Williams Headquarters, and the Terminal Tower.
To one side is the 1855 Old Stone Church; to another, the former Higbee's department store made famous in the 1983 film A Christmas Story and occupied by the Jack Cleveland Casino since 2012. Key Tower, 200 Public Square, the Sherwin-Williams Headquarters, and the Terminal Tower all rise here for you to spot.